Barbara Lieurance recital for The Gilmore Festival plumbed the sonic resources of the piano (review)

KALAMAZOO, MI — In a masterful performance at Wellspring Friday afternoon, Barbara Lieurance made us wonder why pianists focus so much on the keys rather than on the entire instrument, an amazing piece of gear with seemingly unlimited sonic resources.

Every music student knows Henry Cowell’s ground-breaking “Aeolian Harp” (1923). Not a key is touched; instead the player uses only the strings. At first glance, “Aeolian Harp” may seem more a curiosity than a thing of beauty. Not so. Lieurance made the melody sing, the harmonies and dynamics subtly changing, the tempo supple.

Stefan Moore’s “Moving Target” (2008) revealed a second side of the piano’s powers. The pianist plays from Moore’s score, a computer listens, and seven speakers echo the piano lines at precise intervals, creating a glorious, stereophonic surround, at times almost a Bachian polyphony. The pianist controls the piece through careful articulation and dynamic shadings. As Lieurance observed, it was her job to pull the piece towards both chaos and synchronicity. And she did it, keeping her own way despite the almost irresistible urge to yield to the swinging pendulums of sound around her. The result was an array of changing timbres, pitches, chords, and rhythms, by turns aggressive, serene, and biting — a veritable claque of pianists.

Next was C. Curtis-Smith’s “Rhapsodies” (1973), which introduced the piano bow, made of fishing line and carefully attached to specific strings, an invention later adopted by John Cage and George Crumb. With accuracy and grace, Lieurance brought the bowed strings vibrantly to life. Wood, metal, strings, and bows turned the piano into a wonderfully resonant music box. She beautifully evoked the worlds of “dark middle earth,” “embedded ore,” and the “cold seahorn” the composer intended. Her tender nuances, the lovely tones she brought forth, and her exquisite sense of timing and musical structure richly demonstrated how enchanting and profound this music is.

It was a visual and musical feast and a profoundly satisfying afternoon.